What should I expect when inspecting an older Des Moines home?

Older Des Moines neighborhoods, think the 1900s to 1940s housing stock in Beaverdale, Drake, Sherman Hill, the east side, and Highland Park, are full of solidly built homes with a predictable set of century-mark issues that a thorough inspection is designed to catch. Electrically, we frequently find knob-and-tube remnants, undersized services, and layers of amateur rewiring from decades of ownership. Plumbing often mixes original galvanized supply lines, which corrode shut from the inside, with clay sewer laterals that mature street trees invade, making a sewer scope one of the highest-value add-ons in these neighborhoods. Foundations are typically brick, block, or early poured concrete, and we evaluate them for moisture intrusion, mortar deterioration, and movement, with special attention to how the Des Moines Lobe's poorly drained soil and old, flattened grading push water toward basements. Add in aging boilers or converted gravity furnaces, minimal insulation, original windows, and the possibility of asbestos-era materials and lead paint, and there is plenty to document, but almost all of it is manageable with knowledge and budgeting. Our job is to separate the charming quirks from the genuine expenses, with thermal imaging, available as an add-on, to find hidden moisture and a photo-documented report within 24 hours so you can negotiate from facts rather than guesses.